Words of Welcome

Psalm 96 Last Sunday when I preached the first in a series of sermons from the Psalms, we heard the Psalmist declare: “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name” ( Ps. 8:1 ). This morning the Psalmist invites us to sing a new song, for “great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.”  The Book of Psalms is a prayer book and a hymnal that is designed to help us be in relationship with the living God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that “the Psalms have been given to us precisely so that we can learn to pray them in the name of Jesus Christ” [ DBW , 5:157].

Psalm 96 Music has the power to stir our souls and enliven our hearts and minds. Whenever Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus is played or sung, nearly everyone stands. They may even join in singing the chorus. It happened just the other day, when Pat concluded his recital with this very piece. Why do we do this? Is it just habit or expectation? Or is it because this piece of music is so inspiring that we cannot take it in sitting down? What is important to point out is that the Hallelujah Chorus , like Psalm 96, calls forth from us, a declaration that God is sovereign, not just over our personal lives, but as the Psalmist declares, over “all the earth.” And so we sing: “Hallelujah For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, hallelujah” And then, we proclaim: The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, And of His Christ, and of His Christ; And He shall reign for ever and ever . . . “Hallelujah For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, hallelujah” In this song of praise, we hear ec...